Everything You Need to Know About Ghost, the Villain From 'Ant-Man and The Wasp'
The already-mysterious hacker is making its way into this summer's 'Ant-Man and the Wasp.' Here's all the intel we could dig up on the Marvel villain known as Ghost, from comic book origins to how the big screen adaption became female.
Image via Marvel
This summer, Marvel Studios is releasing Ant-Man and the Wasp, the first MCU film to be released following the gut-punch of All Thanos Everything Avengers: Infinity War. While the first Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer highlighted the madcap hilarity and action coursing through the film, the latest trailer finally introduced the villain of the film, Ghost. Yes, Ghost.
Trust, it's okay if you're not like, "Oh, sh*t, it's Ghost!" The character just isn't one of the bigger villains from the Marvel Comics universe. But those who know are excited for the possibilities of how Marvel will bring this particular character to the big screen, especially considering that they've made some changes to Ghost as a person.
That said, we want to make sure you're ready for Ghost before Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6. Here's a primer on Ghost, an interesting character in the comics that's going to make a real splash on-screen this summer. We've even made sure to include some info about the film's Ghost that we learned on our Ant-Man and the Wasp set visit back in September. Don't say we never did anything for you.
Ghost truly is a mystery
Everyone—hero and villain alike—has some kind of alter ego. Ghost is no different, but since being introduced in 1987 via Iron Man #219, readers have never been given Ghost's real identity. His story has been known, but never who he actually is.
A whiz at computers and tech with genius-level intellect, the person who would become Ghost is essentially a guy consumed by a job in the world of IT. Employed by a company named Omnisapient, he was known for creating "Ghost Tech," which was a computer processor with the ability to physically change and adapt to its environment, effectively preventing the processor from overheating. He became extremely successful and known for his revolutionary work in the field, until he fell in love with a co-worker and dropped everything to be with her. Their romance was cut short when she was killed in an explosion at her apartment. Already devastated by her death, he was hit with an even harder blow when it was discovered that she wasn't really in love with him, but paid by Omnisapient to help keep him at their beck and call; the company ended up killing her when she tried to blackmail them for more money.
This revelation pushed the engineer to the edge and he started wiring his own skin to the Ghost Tech processors. When Omnisapient found out that he knew what they did, they hired a hitman, who blew up the his building. The explosion didn't kill him but did fuse the processors to his flesh, turning him intangible and gave birth to Ghost. Hellbent on taking down corrupt corporations (on some Mr. Robot sh*t), he murdered the Omnisaient board of directors, as well as the hitman they hired.
Ghost then erased all traces of his past life, literally becoming a ghost. His hatred for corporate entities have turned him into a skilled hacker, and has had him butt heads with Marvel heroes like Iron Man, who's alter ego Tony Stark ran Stark Industries, a company with its hands all over the Marvel Universe.
Ghost can walk through walls
Due to being fused with the Ghost Tech, Ghost has the ability to turn himself and things he touches invisible or intangible (but never both). This allows him to walk through walls, as well as creep into buildings unsuspected. After fighting (and being defeated by) Iron Man, Ghost upgraded his suit, giving him the ability to mask sounds (including his heartbeat).
Of course, Ghost's technical wizardry makes him one of the fiercest hackers in the Marvel Universe, giving him access through even the toughest firewalls out there. He's also skilled in firearms and explosives.
Ghost is something of an anti-hero
Just because Ghost can make himself intangible doesn't mean he can't get arrested. Ghost's nefarious activities have landed him in jail alongside some of Marvel's biggest supervillain. But it was through incarceration that he was able to find a form of redemption, as Ghost was recruited for the Thunderbolts initiative. Think of the Thunderbolts as DC's Suicide Squad: a black-ops group of bad guys being forced to take care of business for the side of good.
Ghost's most recent iterations in the comics have actually been as a part of the Thunderbolts. He's not completely turned over a new leaf, but he's not a total heel. At times, he's even double-crossed bigger villains like Norman Osborn, alerting heroes of Osborn's plans to amass weapons and take over the planet.
Will that side of Ghost manifest itself in Ant-Man and the Wasp? It's hard to say, seeing as the character we see in the MCU will be very different than what we've seen in the comics.
The MCU's Ghost is a woman
In the latest Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer, we get to see Ghost phase and steal tech while giving Ant-Man a thorough ass-kicking. We also see Ghost's face, and recognize her as Hannah John-Kamen, who's been having a moment this year in Hollywood. Many should remember her as Sonja from the "Playtest" episode of Black Mirror, but she's also been featured earlier this year in Tomb Raider and Ready Player One. Her role as Ghost will no doubt be her biggest yet of 2018, and has us excited for the moves Marvel is making with the character on-screen.
When Entertainment Weekly asked Ant-Man and the Wasp director Peyton Reed about making the MCU's Ghost female, he offered up a very practical answer: "The Ghost character could be male, female, anything, so it just seemed more interesting to us [to cast a woman]." During our trip to Atlanta in September of 2017 to visit the Ant-Man and the Wasp set, we got to speak with John-Kamen about her character.
Image via Marvel
First, John-Kamen appreciated the shift to making John-Kamen a woman, calling it "forward-thinking." With so much mystery surrounding the character, though, she did say she enjoyed the "blank slate" she was given to formulate her own vision as the Ghost: "I think, it’s important as an actor to have your own input. It’s been amazing to work with Peyton on that."
Image via Marvel
Later, John-Kamen spoke on how "amazing" she thought the costume was, but even more surprising was how she spoke on doing her own stunts. "I do my own, I love doing my own stunts, 100 percent. I think it makes such a difference when you as an actor do your stunts. It’s been really fun having that experience and training; if you just let your double do everything, you’re not there to help choreograph the movement of your character. And it’s so nice to have the freedom to be able to go, 'do you know what? Let’s find the movement of the character and see what actual kind of moves will work for that particular person."
Sadly, there's not much else that can be divulged regarding Ghost. John-Kamen called Ghost a "mystery," and did mention briefly that giving us any major insight on who Ghost is would "spoil it...for the fans," so you'll have to live with these glimpses of her in action and know that she's taken the time to craft her own vision of the "ghastly" Ghost for Ant-Man and the Wasp. It is interesting to point out that a number of times, when mentioning Ghost as a villain, John-Kamen made sure to call Ghost an "antagonist." Hmm.
Image via Marvel
Will more creators take the gender-swap approach to these kinds of villains? Time will only tell. We have a feeling Hannah's portrayal is going to add a layer of depth to the character that Ghost's creators might have never even thought of, making for an extremely interesting movie overall.
Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6.